Brilliant for kids parties or christenings, these easy 3d biscuits are achievable even for novice bakers. The duck biscuits are based on the theme of 5 Little Ducks went Swimming One Day and are simple to make as well as super cute!
I first made this simple 3d duck biscuit scene four years ago after watching the Great British Bake Off. At the time, my 2 year old daughter was obsessed by ducks and I knew she would love it. After all, her favourite nursery rhyme was 5 Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day. If I was going to make a 3d biscuit creation it would have to be ducks.
Four years later and I had the chance to sit at one of the bakers' tables at the Extra Slice recording. I could take some biscuits with me but what to take? Well, Little Miss Spice is 6 now and not quite so obessessed with ducks, although they are still her favourite animal. I couldn't resist remaking them for her. After all, these easy 3d biscuits are great for kids of any age.
There were some impressive creations at the Extra Slice recording. My little duck biscuits did not quite stand out enough to be featured on the show but I'm proud of them anyway.
How To Make Easy 3d Biscuits?
Typically gingerbread is used to make 3d biscuit designs but for this construction shortbread works just as well. As it's not a tall biscuit creation and you are not stacking lots of biscuits on top of each other, it doesn't have to be a really strong biscuit.
Don't make it too thin though, you need to be able to stand the ducks up so thicker biscuits work better. Shortbread is also one of our favourites!
What to do if you don't have the right biscuit cutter
If you are lucky enough to have a duck-shaped biscuit cutter then that's great. If you don't then make a paper template for the ducks before you start. The 5 little ducks need to be the same size and the template will make things a lot easier.
Make sure each template is flat on the bottom so the ducks will be able to stand up. Then just use a knife to cut around the template.
What food colouring to use so the biscuits keep their colour
To make the pond blue, you need to add a little food colouring to some of the biscuit dough before baking. Some food colourings fade a lot in the oven and it's hard to get the depth of colour you want so I recommend using professional grade food colouring.
For the pond in these recipe I used ProGel baby blue concentrated food colour. You only need a little bit to get a very strong colour into the dough and it didn't fade in the oven.
Making wings for the duck shortbread biscuits
I have made this 3d biscuit scene a couple of times and experimented with making tiny wings for the little ducks. However, as they are much smaller than the ducks they do bake much more quickly.
So, if you choose to make wings out of biscuit dough, then put them on a separate baking tray and take them out of the oven before the larger pieces of shortbread. Otherwise they will burn!
Instead of making wings I like to just draw little wings using yellow designer or writing icing.
If you have children then this a great activity to do with them. I make a lot of dough so that both kids can be kept busy making their own biscuit creations while I'm focusing on cutting out the ducks!
When I first made these easy 3d biscuits my daughter helped me make the biscuits but I iced them and stood them up on the pond while she was in bed. She had a lovely surprise in the morning but it did mean we had to have biscuits for breakfast that day!
How could you adapt these 3d biscuits?
This 3d duck pond scene is great for little children but it can so easily be adapted to suit your child's tastes.
Instead of making duck, why not make a 3d biscuit sculpture of fish-shaped biscuits and imagine that it's an underwater scene? If you're really ambitious and you have a fish tank at home, could you recreate it in biscuit form? Ok, we have a fish tank so this is actually something I'm thinking of trying!
The large biscuit that is used as base doesn't have to be blue. Make it green and it could be a field or garden. You could top it with 3d animal biscuits to make a farm or zoo scene.
What about if your kids are not quite so into animals? How about making cars or trucks instead?
I almost always add vanilla extract when I'm making biscuits as I love the flavour but you could use almond, lemon (plus zest) or strawberry. In fact, any flavouring that you want and that whoever eating them likes!
How long do these biscuits stay fresh?
Shortbread biscuits will stay fresh for at least 4 weeks in an airtight container. So why not make a big batch and then keep them to snack on?
Can you freeze them?
Yes, although if they are in duck shapes they may get freezer burn as it's hard to keep air away from them. I wouldn't freeze them for more than a month.
You can also freeze the dough. It's possible to bake shortbread directly from frozen or you can defrost it and then use it as if it were freshly made cookie dough.
More Biscuit Recipes
Recipe
Easy 3d Biscuits: 5 Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day
Ingredients
- 300 g butter at room temperature
- 140 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g plain flour
- 140 g rice flour
- Pinch salt
Extra Ingredients Required if Making a Pond and Decorating the Biscuits
- Blue food colour
- Yellow writing icing
- Black writing icing
- Orange writing icing
Instructions
- If you are making ducks and don't have a cutter, draw the shape first on some clean paper and cut it out. You can then use this as a template.
- Put the butter and sugar in the food processor and blitz until they are combined. Blitz in the vanilla. Add the flour and the salt and process again until a dough begins to form.
- If you are making a duck pond, take about two thirds of the mixture out of the food processor and set it aside.
- To the mixture still in the food processor, add a little blue food colour. Blitz it again to combine.
- Take the mixture out and roll it into a pond shape on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Put the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Line two more baking trays with baking paper. Roll out the rest of the dough to about a centimetre thick. Cut out the shapes you want and put them on the baking trays. I made, ducks, large duck wings and flowers using a flower cutter. Put in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Bake in the oven at 180C/160Cfan for about 20 minutes. If some of the shapes are very small they will cook more quickly though so be careful.
- Cool the biscuits on wire racks.
- The duck biscuits will need to have a very flat bottom edge so use a knife to scrape them a little if they are not as flat as you need them to be. Decorate the biscuits when they are cold. To make them stand up, squeeze some of the designer icing along the bottom edge of the ducks and use that to stick them to the pond.
Notes
Nutrition
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Places I'm sharing these Easy 3d Biscuits
Cook Once Eat Twice here at Searching for Spice
Cook Blog Share hosted by Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie
Tracy
How adorable, I am going to have to make my little boy some of these little ducks, he loves them!
Corina Blum
I'm so pleased you like them! And I hope your little boy does too - do let me know if you manage to make them!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
I love these, they are so cute! Still haven't got round to watching Extra Slice, did you make an appearance? Can't wait to watch it tonight!! Eb x
Corina Blum
Thanks! You can only see me in the background on Extra Slice when they were talking to the lady with the peacock cake and the one with the Scottish shortbread. I was wearing a blue top but it's easy to miss me as the biscuits are quite hard to see! x
rebecca Beesley
what a cute centrepiece this would make for a kids party - I love it! How fab that you got to go to the extra slice recording - exciting!!! #gbbobloggers2018
Corina Blum
Thanks Rebecca! It was interesting so see how it all gets filmed and I know I'll watch it a bit differently from now on!
Mayuri Patel
So cute, anyone would fall in love with the ducks. Brilliant idea and a superb idea for a kiddie party.
Corina Blum
Thanks Mayuri! Ducks are so popular with little kids and my two loved these.
Shell Louise
I love these, they're so cute 🙂 We haven't watched Extra Slice yet but I'll keep an eye to see if I can see you!
Corina Blum
I'm so pleased you like them! If you are watching Extra Slice you'll see me in the background in a blue top when they're talking to the ladies who brought the Scottish shortbread and the peacock cake! Even if you know me it's easy not to spot me though.
Louise
What a great idea! Would be lovely for a children's party.
Corina Blum
Thanks Louise! Yes, they are great for kids and fun to make too.
Geetha Priyanka
How cute and adorable these ducks are!!! I can't take my eyes off these beauties... I am sure my daughter would love to make them. Lovely share. #cookblogshare
Corina Blum
Thanks so much Geetha! I'm so pleased you and your daughter would like them!
jenny paulin
Your duck biscuits are so cute Corina .I cannot believe you were in the audience of an Extra Slice! I will have my eyes peeled for You this Friday Thank you for joining in with the GBBO bake along xx
Corina Blum
I really enjoyed Extra Slice Jenny - It was fascinating to see how it all gets filmed and I'm also looking forward to catching sight of myself and my biscuits in the audience! x
Aleka
What a neat idea!! My boys would love making these with me!!!
Corina Blum
Thanks Aleka! Do let me know if you make them - my kids love them.
Monika Dabrowski
You are not only a fabulous cook but also an artist, these look super cute!
Corina Blum
Aww thanks so much Monika! That's so kind of you x
Cat | Curly's Cooking
These look so cute! Also exciting to hear you got to go to the recording of Extra Slice, I'll look out for you!
Corina Blum
Thanks Cat! It was great to see behind the scenes. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can see myself too!
Farrah
These are the cutest things ever! <3 I have pet duckies, so I'm especially amused by this, hehe. :]!
Corina
So pleased you like them!
laura
these are SO super cute!! I adore them--I thought you meant biscuits like southern biscuits but no you meant cookies--which I like better : )
Corina
I'm so pleased you like them! We call this type of cookie a biscuit in the UK.
Corina
Thank you.
yummychunklet
So cute!
Dana Fashina
Love this!!!
Corina
Thanks. It was fun to make.
Bunny Eats Design
Fun! I don't think the baby ducks need wings. I didn't have noticed until I read your post. It seems that this week is all about ducks for me 🙂 Whenever I see more than one duck, I think of "Duck, Duck, Goose!" Did you ever play that as a kid?
Corina
I never played that but it sounds fun! For me at the moment every day is about ducks!